San Miguel de Allende in Mexico has just been named the best city in the world by Travel + Leisure.
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Following votes from 207,000 readers, the city in Guanajuato, which is known for its colonial-era architecture and arts and culture scene, claimed the top spot in the 31st edition of the publication’s World’s Best Awards.
Mexico had a strong showing, with three cities in the top 10, with the rest of the highest-ranking destinations coming from Asia. Following San Miguel de Allende, the top cities in the world were Kyoto, Japan; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Hoi An, Vietnam; and Oaxaca, Mexico.
Florence was named the number one city in Europe – but only 13th overall.
Writing about the awards, Travel + Leisure said: “As for the top cities, tried-and-true reign supreme with phenomenal attractions, superlative hotels, and electric dining scenes.”
Florence earned its place at the top of the ranking for Europe for its “Renaissance treasures, fabulous hotels, and neighbourhood trattorias”.
Second place on the continent went to Prague in Czechia, which was 18th overall, followed by Salzburg in Austria, which came 22nd.
The European top five was rounded out by Poland’s Kraków (24th), and Porto in Portugal.
Portugal and Italy were the biggest winners in Europe, with three cities apiece in the top 15: Porto, Funchal and Lisbon for the former and Florence, Rome and Siena for the latter.
Austria and Spain had two cities each: Salzburg and Vienna, and Seville and Madrid.
The top 15 cities in Europe
- Florence, Italy
- Prague, Czechia
- Salzburg, Austria
- Kraków, Poland
- Porto, Portugal
- Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Rome, Italy
- Funchal, Portugal
- Bruges, Belgium
- Seville, Spain
- Vienna, Austria
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Madrid, Spain
- Siena, Italy
- Budapest, Hungary